Strip off that coat and go clear dirty plates in the banquet hall, Nia—you're staff tonight, not family, my mother-in-law Evelyn snapped, her voice echoing across the candlelit grand ballroom.
Cassius stepped forward to the main microphone, his voice now amplified, echoing through the stunned hall. The low hum of the Vault’s ventilation system was the only sound besides his words.
“Let the terms be clear,” he intoned, his gaze sweeping across the faces of Atlanta’s underworld elite. “As per Section 14B of the 2014 Vault Covenant, the due date for renewal was October 1st. No valid renewal was submitted. This is not a matter of dispute; it is a matter of record.”
He then delivered the crushing blow. “Therefore, every dollar collected by Dupree Capital from the Obsidian Vault over the last 72 hours—since the deadline expired—was obtained illegally under syndicate law.”
A wave of whispered exclamations broke out among the financiers. Illegal gains. That was a serious offense, one that stripped legitimacy and invited harsh penalties. Evelyn’s carefully constructed empire, built on precise adherence to these very rules, was collapsing in real time.
“Effective immediately,” Cassius announced, his voice devoid of pity, “all of Evelyn Dupree’s capital accounts related to the Obsidian Vault’s operations are frozen.”
Evelyn, her face ashen, tried to rise from her chair, her hands shaking. “You can’t do this! This is my family’s legacy!”
Cassius ignored her, his eyes cold and unwavering. “Furthermore, as per the established precedent for gross negligence in charter management and for the egregious breach of sanctuary rules by her enforcers—” he paused, making sure his words landed with full impact, “—Evelyn Dupree is hereby stripped of her voting rights within the syndicate and will face immediate collection proceedings for any and all illicit gains.”
Two of Cassius’s guards, who had been standing silently near the entrance, moved swiftly towards Evelyn’s remaining security detail—a small group of men who had managed to disarm themselves before Fluker’s outburst. They were quickly and efficiently disarmed, their weapons clattering into a canvas bag.
Evelyn watched, her eyes wide with terror, as her last vestiges of protection vanished. Her former business partners, moments before eager to curry favor, now shifted uncomfortably in their seats, actively distancing themselves from her disgraced figure. Nobody wanted to be associated with someone marked for collection by Cassius Washington.
The power had visibly drained from her, leaving her a hollow shell of the formidable matriarch she had once been. The third-party reckoning was complete. The consequences for her actions, not just tonight but for years of overlooking crucial details, were now laid bare.
More Stories
+ There are no comments
Add yours